Source Code

From the moment I read the synopsis on IMDB, I was intrigued. It was a premise that whilst not unheard of, it had enough differences to make me feel as if this was a new concept and although it's hard to give a review without giving some of the game away, I will only tell you as much about the plot as the trailer, so it won't ruin it for you.

Source: Teaser Trailer.com

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train with a girl (Michelle Monaghan) sitting opposite who obviously knows him, yet he is at a loss to know who she is. She's not his girlfriend although she is familiar towards him and so are other passengers, which leads him to believe that he has been on the train before, though he can't remember when.

The whole concept of where he is, what he's doing and why he's there leads him to lock himself in the lavatory, confused as he knows he's Captain Colter Stevens a helecopter pilot in Afghanistan and shouldn't even be on the train in the first place. He sees himself in the mirror and discovers that the reflection staring back at him isn't his. Shortly thereafter, the train explodes, taking him, the girl and everyone else on board with it.

He comes to in a pod of some description and remembers only the train; he has no idea who he is. His only contact with the outside world at this time is Coleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), a Captain in the Military, who tries to explain that he is working within the Source Code, allowing him to travel back into the final eight minutes of the life of the man whose body he's using to try and find a bomb and a bomber, so that they can prevent a much bigger catastrophe befalling central Chicago.

From here, the story unfolds, asking question after question in a one step forward, two steps back kind of manner. It appears that just as you get to understand one thing, it's countered by another, as time and time again, he returns to the last eight minutes of the train's existence and that of his host, each time playing out different scenarios.

This is well worth watching. Not only is it beautifully shot, but thanks to Jake's brilliant portrayal of Colter, together with the performances from the supporting cast, this really is a feast. The developing relationship between Colter, the girl and Captain Goodwin as well as the other characters, draw you in to a tight and well-conceived plot as Gyllenhaal fights to uncover more than simply what's required of him by the military.